Eggs Withdrawn at Markets after Flu Outbreak

Burmese authorities have banned the sale of eggs in markets in Rangoon Division after the discovery of the H5N1 virus at a chicken farm, according to Rangoon sources.

The ban extends initially to Feb 28, the sources said. The authorities ordered the ban after more than 100 chickens died of the bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, state media reported on Monday that eight students in the Rangoon suburb of North Okkalapa and four people in Chin State had contracted A/H1N1.

The infected students were admitted to the Wai Bar Gi infectious diseases hospital in Rangoon, and 73 people with whom they possibly had contact were quarantined.

Since the original global outbreak of A/H1N1 in April 2009, 69 cases have been registered in Burma. There were no fatalities.

Dr Myo Lwin, a national consultant with the World Health Organization  in Burma, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “It is like a wave. It can happen any time because the virus is in the air and can easily infect people.”

Myo Lwin said the authorities had sufficient medicine and facilities to control the outbreak.  

Dr Zaw Ye Myint, a veterinary surgeon in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy he was worried the virus could transmute and take a more serious form.

Health workers say that although precautions are adequate at Rangoon International Airport, border checkpoints lacked the necessary equipment to test arriving travelers.